Quoted / Reported Speech
Who said or thought it?
Betekenis
A structure that reports speech, thought, belief, command, or question directly or indirectly.
Zo herken je het
Ask whose words or thoughts are being represented.
Voorbeelden
said|told|asked|thought|quoted
he said that|she asked if|according to him
She said that she was tired.
Visual guide
SPEAKER / THINKER
She said [that she was tired].
[reported thought]
Ask: whose words?
→ She represents them.
Direct quote: She said, "I am tired." Indirect report: She said [that she was tired]. Check shifts: I→she, am→was.
Taaloverzicht
In je moedertaal
Reported speech uses dat or of clauses with subordinate word order, or direct quotation.
Hij zegt dat hij moe is.
He says that he tired is.
In de taal die je leert
English distinguishes direct and reported speech with reporting verbs, tense backshift, pronouns, and punctuation.
She said that she was tired.
reported clause = reported speech
Learners often struggle with tense shift, quote punctuation, and pronoun/time changes.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.